Are you a smoker… and a singer? Has it been an ongoing nagging question if smoking does affect your singing voice?
Or are you just getting started with singing and still fancy to light up a cigarette once in a while?
Sure, smoking on stage looks cool and can make you feel like a rock star. But is it really a good idea?
There’s a lot of talking about vocal health and how to keep in shape to ensure you’ll have a long-lasting singing career.
Does smoking really affect your singing voice? And if yes, to which extent?
In the next few paragraphs, I will address these questions and shed a smoky light on this sensitive discussion.
Are Singers Prone To Smoking?
Currently, there are one billion smokers worldwide.
While you might think that the lifestyle of artists…like heavy partying… would result a higher rate of smokers, recent statistical outcomes paint a different picture.
Because, according to multiple surveys, singers are just in the mid-range of all professions, with ranging smoker rates between 14 to 17%.
People, who work in construction and in food services (!), have the highest smoking rates with around 30% (Fig.1)
Graphic by vapourlites.com
Since 1974 the proportion of smokers, who have quit, consistently outweighs the proportion of current smokers.
When you look at the vast amount of anti-smoking campaigns and restrictions that were put in place over the last years…that’s not really surprising, though.
Smoke Your Way to A Lower Voice
I found some interesting studies conducted with smokers and non-smokers.
They measured different vocal parameters, e.g. fundamental frequency to analyze the impact of smoking on the voice.
Results of a Brazilian study showed, that in a relatively short time period (< 10 years), fundamental frequency parameters were significantly decreased in all smoking groups.
The effect was especially seen in female smokers, which had a frequency decrease of 14Hz on average, compared to the non-smoker group.
So, what that really means is…
If you smoke for a couple of years, your voice gets deeper and you lose some of your brilliant high notes. The vocal change is considered to be a result of vocal edemas due to tobacco exposure.
YES! I WANT TO QUIT SMOKING TODAY
But you are not alone…
Did You Know These Brilliant Artists Smoke?
When you take a look at some popular singers, you may be surprised, who else is or was a smoker.
Eddie Vedder
Lady Gaga
Tom Waits
David Bowie
Freddie Mercury
Ville Valo
Nat King Cole
Enrico Caruso (!)
Adele
Axl Rose
Jim Morrison
Amy Winehouse
Ronnie James Dio
David Coverdale
Robert Plant
The Beatles
The Rat Pack
Well, some could draw the conclusion that you can still be a stunning singer and chain smoker at the same time?
I personally wouldn’t go that far.
But let me ask you some interesting questions…
– How could one of the best tenors of all time, Enrico Caruso, be a heavy smoker and still deliver the best high C performances night after night after night?
– How could someone like Dean Martin, who eventually died of lung cancer, keep his unique smooth voice throughout his entire career?
Probably they knew the secret of…
How To Smoke Like a Chimney And Still Sing Like An Angel
If you can’t or don’t want to quit smoking, you should take at least some actions to keep your voice in good shape.
The best method to prevent your voice from falling apart due to smoking is learning and using a solid and healthy vocal technique.
If you’re able to use the airflow and sing efficiently with only minor engagement, you will experience a world of maximum outcome with only little effort.
Moreover, alcohol has a much deeper immediate impact on the vocal cords than cigarettes will ever do.
Remember the last morning after a boozy night. When you woke up to answer the phone…and you sounded like Barry White?
Well, that’s the result of swollen vocal cords. And if you want to double that effect, smoking and drinking will do it for you.
I Was a Smoker For 15 Years
Hell yes, no need to hold anything back here.
I’d been smoking for fifteen years straight. My daily dose of nicotine was roughly a pack.
Throughout my “smoking career”, I started taking voice lessons. Over the course of 10 years, smoking and singing overlapped. There was one single year, where I stopped smoking for the first time.
But here’s something surprising…
Interestingly, I didn’t notice that big of a difference when I was still smoking and the time after I quit.
Neither did I have a clearer voice, nor did I experience more ease/more struggle within my given vocal range.
That lead me to my personal conclusion, that the effects smoking has on your vocal skills might probably not be as dramatic as claimed.
On the other hand…
I’ve never been a heavy-touring singer, who had to push himself to his limits… night after night. So, that might have had an additional impact on my roasted voice.
Conclusion
If you take a close look at the effects smoking can have on your singing voice, there is no one truth.
There is some scientific proof, smoking over several years, can cause vocal edemas, which results in a lower voice.
On the other hand, there are multiple examples of famous singers, who heavily smoked and yet kept their voices on a high level throughout their entire careers.
Now, here’s my personal take on it…
We all know it: Smoking is a bad, unhealthy and unnecessary habit with the potential to seriously harm your health.
There are exactly ZERO good reasons why you should smoke at all.
And I think there are better ways to spend your hard-earned money.
I’m very happy I took the plunge years ago and got rid of my yellow, stinky fingers and this annoying craving for the next puff.
Well, I don’t know about you.
If it doesn’t bother you, just go on and keep doing it as long as you want. You probably will have some good vocal years ahead.
But if you want to take back full control of your life, health and breath… then a proven quit smoking program may help you on your way.
Just click the link below and kick your cigarettes out of your house and out of your mind.
YES! I WANT TO QUIT SMOKING TODAY
References
1. Cigarette Smoking Trends Among U.S. Working Adult by Industry and Occupation: Findings From the 2004–2012 National Hehttps://296adan6tla9ukc9u8uaex9t3z.hop.clickbank.net/?tid=MVS02alth Interview Survey; Nicotine Tob Res. 2015 May; 17(5): 599–606.
2. https://www.vapour.com/latest/industries-with-the-highest-and-lowest-smoking-rates/
3. Office for national statistics: Adult smoking habits in the UK: 2017
4. Early effects of smoking on the voice:A multidimensional study; Med Sci Monit,2004;10(12):CR649-656
Did you like what you just read? Are you a singing smoker or have you quit, already?
Tell me what you think about this topic and/or your experiences. I’m curious!
Rock on
Felix
Hi Felix,
Thanks so much for sharing this article and taking the time to examine the effect that smoking has on you singing voice.
I’ve always known that smoking was a very unhealthy habit that could lead to a number of medical conditions but I had no idea that it could actually affect a persons singing voice. Very interest indeed and very relevant for performers!
Also, I should congratulate you on giving up smoking yourself. That in itself is an achievement you should be proud of.
Cheers,
Shane
Thank you Shane, as I said, it was easier than I thought. Truth is, I never tried desperately to quit. When the time was right, I suddenly didn’t perceive me as a smoker. I literally woke up and the instantly said to myself:”I’m a non-smoker”. Plus I monitored my non-smoking days/weeks/months with a “Quit smoking”-app and that massively supported my actions.
I would definitely believe that smoking would hurt the voice, I mean look what it does to the “talking” voice. You can always tell an older smoker from a non-smoker just by listening to them talk. That raspy voice is a sure indicator that they smoke or have smoked, right? I was actually amazed to see that alcohol has a greater impact on the voice than cigarettes? Wow – that darned alcohol is always a culprit! LOL!!
I was just as surprised to see the list of smoker-singers. I did not know half of those people ever smoked. Wow.
Hi Babsi, thanks for commenting. Just two things: Those raspy voices, you’re talking about don’t always show up in smokers. My theory is, that it has a lot to do, with how you use your voice. Most professional singers, know how to sing economically, which makes a huge different. That’s why just a fraction of them develops an unhealthy voice. Some singers like Rod Stewart have a husky voice, although they never smoked a cigarette.
Hi Felix
Wonderful article and one worth sharing. Many years ago (many that is) I used to be in a band although I wasn’t the front line singer but one of the singers nevertheless.
I used to be able to hit some high notes but over the years of smoking I did notice that I can no longer hit those notes and it did lower the voice as well. So what you state is true.
Although I gave up the music industry 20 years ago I still smoked and it also affect not only the high registrar but also my lungs which means I couldn’t breath as deeply or effectively as once needs which singing. Back in 2008 I had a major heart attack which was mostly with the constriction of the arteries due to the smoking as I was eating fairly health so food wasn’t the issue smoking was.
Glad to say since the heart attack I gave up pretty much cold turkey I did try one after I got out of hospital out of curiosity sake but felt sick so with the 3/4 of what was left I ripped them up and threw them in the bin. 10 years later smoke free.
But some damage was done and to this day still can’t hit those hit notes as clearly as before.
The breathing has improved and can now take super deep breaths and also hold them in without that need to cough.
I did notice at times I could get close to some higher notes but still not as the way I would like. But now I am 60 so I don’t have that urge to be in a band did all that good (and bad Stuff) then but still a wonderful experience to keep
So this post rings true to me with the singing part as well as the health part so thank you for that.
Wishing you well
Andre
Hi Andre, thanks for sharing your (very interesting) story. Great, you quit and never went back! Seems, we have some things in common. All the best and never give up the singing part 😉
Hey Felix,
First of all thanks for the great article. I’m a smoker myself and hopefully a future singer. The thing is I like heavy metal, and even with the right screaming technique I find that both in range and resistance there is a big difference. I used to be able to do 20 seconds screams before I started smoking and now I can barely reach 15 seconds. I also find a big difficulty switching from screaming to singing and I keep spitting muccus. I’m looking online and will eventually talk to health professionals about this.
Although you didn’t really cater to my type of singing, your article was insightful. I believe the rare cases of screamers/singers who managed to smoke their asses off and keep up with the grind like you mentioned are special cases that defy the rule. Each individual has their pair of vocal chords, so I’m afraid there isn’t really a rule for every human being.
Thanks,
Z
Hey Z,
Thanks for your comment and please excuse the delay of my response.
Oh yes, that heavy metal stuff is really heavy and demands solid technique and healthy vocals.
You are right, there is no rule for every one. If you have that kind of outcome (declining stamina and spitting mucus) it’s quite obvious you are not doing you any good smoking. How many cigarettes, by the way? Singing, on the other hand cleanses the bronchia, so that’s where the mucus is coming from.
If you are really serious about singing you probably should make a decision where you want to go from here.
All the best and keep rockin’
Felix
Being a nicotine slave is just the most hideous habit known to mankind. The hideous side smoke just coats and cakes everything in the vicinity and makes the local air stink to hell. And skunkweed is just as bad.
Cancer sticks are bad for the vocal cords!! Period!!! End of story!!!